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Hey guys, Me and a buddy of mine are thinking of setting up a hackerspace in Chicago and we'd like to get some advice. We're aware of the other space in the area, but as they charge quite a bit for membership fees (up to $70/mo), we'd like to set up a space that'd be 100% free to use and open to everyone. The only problem with the idea is the amount of overhead we'd have to pay for the size of space we'd like to put together. We're asking the community for ideas on ways to generate enough revenue to keep the space open as well as to reinvest and improve the space as time goes by. So far we've come up with a couple of ideas including a storefront for components and products, which would act both as a supply depot and kinda like radioshack for outside customers. We're also thinking of even putting up products that members put together for sale. Other ideas include classes and workshops, LAN parties, contests to raise money, donations, paid storage at the space, and reserved equipment (large equipment like lathes, mills, CNC, etc.). If you guys have any other ideas for fun or profit, leave us a reply. We want to set this space up for people like us. What would draw you to a space like this to spend time building and collaborating with other people? danke.

I'd honestly just start by asking the guys at PS:1 - they've helped several other start-up spaces get going; you'd be able to get an idea of what the expected overhead costs would be and how they get their classes together.

I like the idea of a storefront, but there's probably tax implications on the building if you're trying to sell stuff (I'm assuming you'd have to register as a non-profit to make this work).

I don't think I'd aim to make it free, I'd aim to make it affordable to the common person. The overhead would be far too great unless you will have a handsome amount of money to put into this to cover overhead. You'd have rental space (hundreds to thousands per month), you need equipment where the sky is the limit to buy and then ongoing costs for maintenance/repairs, you'll need some form of liability insurance to cover yourself in case someone gets injured, and so on. If it's free I think that means you'd have the tendency to attract some people who just want to use some equipment and not give anything back, and sadly many won't care about how the equipment is treated.

You can always sell parts and take donations, but its unlikely those will cover the cost, they'd just supplement it. You'd need a healthy inventory which means a lot of upfront costs and probably low margins. Also don't underestimate geeks' requirements for food and drinks, those are always easy sellers that can be high margin.

Ideally we'll have optional membership fees which would include perks such as reserved storage/workspace areas, access to large/specialized hardware like lathes/mills/etc., waived fees for contests, 24/7 access to the space, discounts for the storefront, increased commission from any projects submitted to the storefront...to name a few.

also...SNACKS. how the hell did we gloss over snacks?? having a vending machine stocked with monster or red bull would bring in quite a lot of money.

Another idea we've come up with would be to have the space in a relatively well walked area and have a cafe to draw people in as well as fuel the geek fire with all the caffeine.

We'll definitely have to have a decent amount of capital to come in with, which kickstarter might be a decent option for. Hopefully there's enough demand for a space of this nature that we'd be able to get some funding.